Expedia's Response To Plaintiffs Using Libertad Act In Lawsuit: No Jurisdiction, No Standing, No Ownership
/From The Defendants:
“First, the Expedia Entities are not subject to personal jurisdiction in Florida. The only allegations in the operative complaint related to the Expedia Entities’ purported contacts with Florida are conclusory. Indeed, the only factual allegations that even attempt to connect the Expedia Entities to Florida are that (1) reservations at the Resorts are offered to Florida residents—like all other U.S. residents—through online booking providers like Expedia Group and (2) the Expedia Entities solicit and accept reservations from Florida residents—like all other U.S. residents. Those allegations cannot establish personal jurisdiction. Plaintiffs have therefore failed to meet their burden to plead a prima facie case for personal jurisdiction, and this case should be dismissed under Rule 12(b)(2).
Second, even if the Expedia Entities were subject to personal jurisdiction in Florida, this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over this case because Plaintiffs lack standing to sue under Article III of the Constitution. Plaintiffs lack constitutional standing because they fail to clearly allege facts showing that they have suffered an injury-in-fact, much less one that is causally connected to the Expedia Entities’ offering reservations at the Resorts. As a result, this case must be dismissed under Rule 12(b)(1).
Third, even absent these twin jurisdictional defects, Plaintiffs’ complaint should be dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6) because it fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Plaintiffs’ complaint fails in the same two independent respects as the complaint in Gonzalez v. Amazon.com, Inc., No. 1:19-cv-23988-RNS, 2020 WL 1169125 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 11, 2020): Plaintiffs have not sufficiently alleged that they own an actionable ownership interest in the Properties, or that the Expedia Entities knowingly and intentionally engaged in activity related to confiscated property when they offered reservations at the Resorts, see id. at *2. But that is not all. Plaintiffs’ claims are also barred by two of the Act’s definitional exemptions: the lawful-travel clause in the Act’s definition of traffics, and the residential-use provision in the Act’s definition of property.”
MARIO DEL VALLE, ENRIQUE FALLA, MARIO ECHEVARRIA V. TRIVAGO GMBH, A GERMAN LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, BOOKING.COM 8.V., A DUTCH LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, GRUPO HOTELERO GRAN CARIBE, CORPORACION DE COMERCIO Y TURISMO INTERNACIONAL CUBANACAN S.A., GRUPO DE TURISMO GAVIOTA S.A., RAUL DOE I-5, AND MARIELA ROE 1-5, [1:19-cv-22619; Southern Florida District]
Rivero Mestre LLP (plaintiff)
Manuel Vazquez, P.A. (plaintiff)
Scott Douglass & McConnico (defendant)
Akerman (defendant)
LINK To: Defendants Expedia, Inc., Hotels.Com L.P., Hotels.Com Gp, Llc, And Orbitz, Llc’s Motion To Dismiss For Lack Of Personal Jurisdiction, Lack Of Subject Matter Jurisdiction, And Failure To State A Claim, And Incorporated Memorandum Of Law
